Here's another movie that's been recommended to me almost constantly since it came out in 2006. I'd never made time to watch it until last night.
My taste in movies must be really predictable, because I loved this movie.
The Fountain is a total head trip - and, coming from me, that's a term of endearment. The first twenty minutes or so move around so fast that it's difficult to get a firm grip on any kind of plot. Luckily, the visuals are so striking that the movie kept my attention anyway. Right from the beginning, the film gives the viewer strong images (a ring, a tree, a three-star constellation) that connect three disparate plot lines long before their connection is made explicit.
On a side note, I've criticized some movies for banking on fancy visuals to keep an audience's attention over compelling story. While some movies do quite well with a "style over substance" approach, I feel The Fountain uses its visuals instead to tantalize its audience with the promise of a rewarding payoff - and it delivers. That puts it well ahead of some movies.
Director Darren Aronofsky understands how to make a movie MEAN something visually, not just look pretty. He makes an impressive visual connection between a woman and a tree that, frankly, I still find it hard to believe he pulled off. All the emphasis on the visual contributes to a deftly-constructed conclusion, where parallels to the Garden of Eden help bring the plot full circle without having any single point explained too much.
Also, I have to point out that movies like this are the reason Hugh Jackman is one of my favorite actors. And Rachel Weisz is SO much better in this than any of the Mummy movies.
The movie falls only just a bit short in some of the narrative leaps it makes - it's trying too hard to be clever. Still, that's a sin I find myself guilty of on several occasions, so I can't fault it too much.
Good movie. May be on my new favorites list.
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